Resolutions
by SolitaireXL
Summary: A chance encounter at the airport after over a dozen years of separation turns out to be more than either Hiruma or Mamori bargained for. Future Hirumamo fic, done for Holiday Hirumamo Gift Exchange.
1. 10:00 'Late for a Very Important Date'

**Title:** Part 1: 10:00 (Late for a Very Important Date)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Eyeshield 21 or its characters.

It had just started snowing. Mamori felt lucky that the plane had just touched down seconds before she saw the fluffy white stuff falling on the runway outside her seat window. She had already been delayed twice, and this was now officially the worst flight she had from Japan to the United States, but she was glad to have finally arrived. Back in the city that never sleeps, New York.

She had been to New York quite a few times, but the first time was her fondest memory. It had been nearly 15 years since she came here to watch the Japan All-Stars play in the World Cup American Football Tournament. That old saying about time flying fast sure applied in this case. It seemed like just yesterday that Sena was the shy little boy she protected has a child. Now he was the professional star running back for the New York Giants. Of course he did what every star football player did, he married a cheerleader.

As she stood at the baggage carousel, her thoughts drifted to a certain person with spiky blond locks and devilish green eyes. She had not kept in touch with Hiruma over the years, and neither had he kept in touch with her. It just happened that way that sometimes people grew apart, and as the years piled on, the distance grew wider. If she was lucky though, Sena might have a bit of news to share about the former Devil Bat captain at the party. After looking irritatedly at her watch, she now realized she was horribly late for said party.

She grabbed her bag off the carousel, and rushed to the nearest exit. Taxies were scarce, and there was a haphazard line, but what did she expect? It was New Year's Eve; rather late on New Year's Eve to be exact, and snowing. After she was cut in line for what seemed like the millionth time, she rushed forward to grab the next cab. Just as she reached for the door, a large black leather gloved hand appeared next to hers on the handle.

"Oi! This one is…" she began as she whipped around to face the would-be cab stealer with her icy cold blue eyes, but the sight she was greeted with stole her breath away.

"Kekeke, fucking manager. I thought that was you."

The voice was pretty much the same. Maybe a tad deeper with age, but it still retained that same mocking tone that could infuriate and make her swoon at the same time. However, everything else had changed dramatically. The dyed blond spiky long locks had been replaced with shorter natural black ones. The features in his face had become sharper, more angled with age. But it was those devilish green eyes that gave her the biggest shock. Somehow they had become warmer and more gentile than she had remembered.

"H-Hiruma. W-What are you doing here?" Mamori managed to stammer through her disbelief.

"Trying to help you into a cab, fucking manager," Hiruma smiled. She felt hot tears of joy threatening to sting her eyes as she looked up into a face she hadn't seen in over a dozen years.

"Stop calling me that!" She managed to choke out as she held back the tears. He laughed as he opened the cab door.

"Mind if I share a cab with you? The limo service I ordered seems to have been delayed." He said calmly. Mamori was still in such complete shock over seeing him again, in New York of all places that she would have agreed to just about anything.

"Sure," she said as the cabby came around to the curb to help put their bags in the trunk of the cab.

As the two of them slid in the cab next to each other, her mind raced with all the questions she had thought about asking him if they should ever meet again. Like where did his affinity for weapons come from? How did he become such a technological wiz? What kind of blackmail material did he have on her? Why didn't it work out between them all those years ago? Yet she sat there, immovably still, her soft mitten covered hand primly in her lap, trying hard to resist the urge to touch him.

"Where to?" the cab turned to them after he got into the car.

Hiruma turned to look at her. "You can drop the lady off first," he said easily as he smiled. She could feel her cheeks grow warm, and her mouth suddenly go dry. Why was he still having this effect on her after so many years? Was it because his appearance had changed, and he seemed more grown up than she had remembered? Or was it because behind those deceptively warm green eyes she sensed the charming charismatic demon still lurked?

"5530 East 75th Street, Manhattan," she said softly after she swallowed hard to gain some sense of composure back, but the man sitting next her began to chuckle to himself, alerting her that maybe she had said something wrong.

"What is it? Was my English not correct?" Her brow furrowed worriedly as she looked at him and his laughter grew.

"No, your English is fine," he said as he continued to laugh. "It's just that a certain fucking cheerleader is going to have some explaining to do."


	2. 10:15 'Ghost of New Year's Past'

**Title:** Part 2: 10:15 (Ghost of New Year's Past)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Eyeshield 21 or it characters.

He was grumpy, irritated, and late. He hated to be late. He hated to be delayed. Why spend all that money on a private jet if he had to sit on the tarmac and wait for the weather to clear? Who did he need to bribe or blackmail to get the snow to stop? Then again, he didn't even know why he was going there in the first place. New York was the last place he wanted to be on New Year's Eve.

He suspected that his decision had something to do with the fucking cheerleader's powers of persuasion. She had probably spent too much time observing him when she was younger, and now she had become a master of his old techniques in her own right. Of course it had been a few years since he had stopped by to see his former protégées and their growing brood, but he always made a point of it being a spur of the moment thing. Nothing planned. Part of him never wanted to risk the chance of running into _her_, while the other part of him, didn't give a fuck.

When he finally arrived in New York, it was one more mishap after another. He swore that after this trip was over somebody was gonna get fired, or at least tortured, depending on his mood. His pilot had forgot to file the proper flight plan, so of course Homeland Security wanted to search his plane, and of course they found numerous "illegal" weapons stashed in different areas of said plane. The next logical step would have been to search his person, so before the security officers arrived at that conclusion, he decided it was time that a little black threat notebook made its appearance.

This course of action sped things up tremendously, but he was already grossly late, and it didn't help that his limo was stuck in traffic somewhere uptown. Apparently the driver had forgotten, or misunderstood that he needed to be picked up at the airport _first_, and then taken to the private residence. He didn't think of himself as an unreasonable man. He had achieved great success in his life, and had believed that afforded him certain luxuries. A worry free existence was among one of those luxuries he counted on, yet people were getting added to his "To Kill" list by the minute.

As he stood just inside the exit doors on his cell phone, making sure his personal assistant was having just as an abysmal New Year's as he was at the moment, he caught his first glimpse of her. It was so brief a glimpse that he followed her outside to make sure his agitated mind wasn't playing cruel tricks on him. However, it definitely was her. The short soft auburn hair now flowed gracefully down her shoulders, and was still as bright as it had been when they were teenagers. She was wearing a fluffy white beanie cap with a matching scarf and mittens, and it struck him how adorable she looked standing there trying to hold her place in line despite being shoved aside by the other desperate people trying to get a cab.

It had been years, and yet it seemed as if it had only been yesterday that she had left their small college apartment. Emotions that he swore he would never let himself feel began to surface, and he squashed them down immediately. People had left him before she came into his life, and people had left him since. Why should she be any different than any of the rest? What made her so fucking special to this day?

His body's response was automatic, and a bit involuntary as he rushed forward the same time as she did. He felt the charge of electricity as their gloved hands touched on the door handle of the taxi cab. More so than any normal static shock you might get. This was something that ran through his entire body, and threatened to scramble the brain waves in his head, depriving him of all reason or coherent thought. The angry look she briefly shot his way was priceless. It made him want to lean down, and kiss her mercilessly right then and there. Her look of shock was more endearing though, and he decided that despite how things had started, and even though he had made a consistent decision to avoid her all these years, he would share a cab with her just this once, and finally be done with the thoughts of what might have been.

It wasn't until she had given the cab driver the address that it occurred to him, just where exactly had he thought she would be staying in this big city? It had not even crossed his mind that when the fucking cheerleader had invited him to spend New Year's with her, the fucking shrimp, and their damn kids that he would be running into her, let alone that she would be spending New Years with them as well.


	3. 11:00 'Fashionably Late'

**Title:** Part 3: 11:00 (Fashionably Late)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Eyeshield 21 or it characters.

So they were going to the same place. Despite being giddy at the fact that she was now sitting next to Hiruma in the back of a cab, she harbored the urge to strangle Suzuna once they finally arrive. Although she couldn't blame the cheerleader for the weather, and her plane being delayed, or Hiruma's limo driver becoming confused. No, those were machinations beyond the former cheerleader's control. She wouldn't have put it past someone the likes of Youichi Hiruma, but the former captain looked just as surprised to see her there as she was to see him.

As the cab travelled along the busy New York streets, she took the opportunity to look over at him in their uncomfortable silence. He was dressed elegantly in his usual black from his long silk scarf all the way down to his expensive looking Italian leather dress shoes. The thought occurred to her what might be under his heavy black coat, but his dazzling green eyes turned to look at her just then, causing her to blush and look away. She waiting momentarily before daring to look again and speak. It was the rustling of paper and the casual noise of popping gum that put her mind at ease.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She wanted to slide into a hole as soon as the words came out. More than a dozen years since she had seen him and all she could say was something so unoriginal. He simply turned to her and smiled, thus making the knife she felt stab her through the heart plunge deeper.

She let the awkward silence linger until the cab driver pulled up to the posh Manhattan building where Sena and Suzuna's penthouse was. As she dug into her purse for her half of the cab fair, Hiruma got out of the cab to help the cabby with their bags.

"Hurry up, fucking manager. We haven't got all year! Kekeke!"

"You know you can stop calling me that! I haven't been the manager of a football team in over 15 years," she gave him an irritated look as she found her wallet and began taking out cash to pay for the cab.

"Don't bother with that, I've already paid," Hiruma said calmly as he picked up their bags from the curb.

"Then I will give it to you. We were sharing a cab, weren't we?" She countered

"Kekeke, still as formal and proper as ever, fucking manager!"

"I told you that you could stop calling me that!" She yelled as she pulled herself up on to the tips of her toes to glare at him, nose close to nose.

"You'll always be the fucking manager to me. Regardless of how old we are," the light calmness with which he responded made her frightfully aware of just how close their faces were. How close their lips were. She backed away a little clumsily, and heard him chuckle softly as he turned to enter the building.

The lobby of the building was as opulent as she remembered. It truly was amazing how far Sena and Suzuna had come. More importantly, Sena had realized his dream to become a professional football player. She had become so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Hiruma talking to the doorman, and the doorman giving him a note.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she noticed the irritated look on Hiruma's face as they made their way to the elevators to go up to Sena and Suzuna's penthouse home.

"They've already left for the fucking party. Looks like they got tired of waiting,"

"Oh."

"They left their key with the doorman, so we are just gonna drop these bags and head off to the party ourselves."

She shot him an incredulous look as the elevator doors closed on them. "I can't go to the party like this!" He met her shock with his same non-caring expression that used to infuriate her when they were teenagers. Mamori inhaled deeply preparing for battle. "I have been traveling for 18 hours! I need a shower! I need to steam out my dress! I can't go to the party in jeans!"

It was so easy for him to say that they could just drop their bags and head off to the party. He was the one dressed spectacularly in his tux, and smelled like he just stepped out of a dream. She never liked being at a disadvantage to anyone, especially this one. It was a weird notion though, because she never actually felt that she had ever really gained an advantage over him.

"Fine," he said easily. She had to blink twice to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Surely this wasn't Youichi Hiruma standing next to her. There had to be some mistake, because no one could change that much in 15 years!


	4. 11:30 'Playing Dressup'

**Title:** Part 4: 11:30 (Playing Dress-up)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Eyeshield 21 or it characters.

He just didn't feel like arguing with her. In fact, seeing her again had quite the opposite effect that the events earlier in the evening had on him. He just liked hearing her voice, and seeing those same hilarious expressions her face made when she was irritated, shocked, or confused. He was actually having fun just being next to her, and didn't really care if they made it to the party or not, so he decided to let her have her way. Hiruma unlocked the door to the penthouse and let her rush in ahead of him.

"I just need to take a quick shower. I'll pin up my hair some kind of way, and my dress can steam out in the bathroom from the heat of the shower, so it shouldn't take me long at all," she babbled as she grabbed her bags from him, dumped them on the sofa, and began to rummage through them for the necessary items she needed to complete her transformation.

"Take whatever time you need," he said as he pulled out his cell phone to dial his limo service. This time he expected the limo to show up on time, or else.

Hiruma made himself comfortable on the couch as he watched Mamori disappear with her things in some distant darkness. He marveled at how well she knew her way around this penthouse. She must have been here quite a few times over the years. Of course he had avoided coming to visit, mainly because of her. He knew that she probably was the perfect auntie to the shrimp and the cheerleader's kids.

It made him wonder why she didn't have any of her own. Why was she traveling on her own? Where was the husband or boyfriend? He wanted to ask the questions, but didn't want it to seem like he cared. He didn't care. He really didn't care about how her life had been these past dozen years, since she left him. He had been fine without her, just like always. He never needed her in the first place. She was always a meddler, getting into other people's business, and sticking her nose in where it didn't belong.

Hiruma's phone disturbed his thoughts. The limo was there ready to pick them up. 20 minutes had past, and she still had not appeared back in the living room. He debated whether to go searching for her through the halls of the penthouse, but decided it was too much of a bother. He was comfortable where he was and didn't see any need in over exerting himself looking for her.

"Oi! Fucking manager! Are you ready yet?" he called out to the darkness.

"J-just a second," he heard her call back. The uncertainty in her voice made him sit up a little straighter.

"Did you still want to go to this party?" he called back, hoping that she would release him from the obligation of going, deciding that maybe they could use the time to talk. Not that he cared at all one way or the other. It was just something else to pass away the New Year.

"Uh…could you help me with something?" She called out to him once more. This time he stood up and began to walk towards where her voice was coming from

"Where the hell are you?"

"In the guest room, over here,"

He turned down a corridor, past some rooms he could see were the children's, and made his way to a door that was slightly ajar. He paused for a moment, debating whether to kick the door open like old times, then thought better of it, and decided to push the door open gently. He could not believe his eyes. With only 20 minutes she had completely transformed in to _this_; this vision standing before him. It wasn't that she didn't look great before in her snug fitting jeans and bulky sweater, but this was truly amazing. She turned to glance over at him standing in the doorway, and he mentally checked himself to make sure that his mouth wasn't hanging open with drool coming out.

"Would you mind getting this zipper for me, please?" she was standing there with her open back towards him in a shimmering slinky long off the shoulder dress in the softest sea green. Her long auburn hair was pinned intricately on the top of her head, and he absently wondered which pin to pull to make it all come down again.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he said as he came towards her, breathing in her fresh lilac scent. His hands on her zipper were more certain and easy than the rest of his body felt being near her bare skin. Part of him wanted to take his time with the tiny clasp, but he thought better of himself, and did his duty.

"Thanks," she said brightly as she turned around to give him a cheery smile. "I think I'm ready to go," she began scurrying around the room grabbing up her long dress coat scarf and purse.

"Good, because the limo is waiting downstairs," he said as he followed her out of the room. Taking a long deep breath, he silently wished that the bar in the limo was stocked, because this was going to be one long ride to an unnecessary party.


	5. 12:00 'Better Late Than Never'

**Title:** Part 5: 12:00 (Better Late Than Never)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Eyeshield 21 or it characters.

She mentally went over everything again in her mind. 20 minutes was a quick change for her, but she didn't want to miss the midnight toast at the party, nor did she want to irritate her companion. She patted her hair making sure it was secure, and licked her teeth, remembering them she had brushed them twice really quickly. She was the most proud of her dress, and gave herself a mental complement that she had great taste in clothes.

She had bought it specifically for this party, while out shopping in Japan. The moment she saw it, she knew she had to have it. Not only because it was gorgeous, but because it reminded her of dazzling shiny jade green eyes that used to hypnotize her into doing things she normally would not do. It seemed almost serendipitous that this gorgeous dress was now in the presence of those dazzling eyes.

They had remained in a silence reminiscent of their old days together as they rode back down in the elevator to the waiting limo outside the building. It was a silence that she always felt necessary to fill, but chose not to, because she could never tell if he was enjoying the silence, or not. Her stance had always been not to try and bother him. When he became irritated, which easily happened, it always seemed to spark an argument between them. Although, she never regretted losing herself in the moment of it all, once they got into the limo, she decided to break the silence to make herself more comfortable instead.

"So what are you doing with yourself these days?" She asked half heartedly as she watched Hiruma pour himself a drink while the limo moved along the snowy roads.

"Eh?" He lifted an eyebrow over his glass, and she was instantly embarrassed.

"I mean, what line of work are you in?"

"Weapons manufacturing."

"I see," and it was clear to her that their conversation was slated to go nowhere so she decided to drop it, and enjoy the silence.

She watched the snow fall outside their window as they travelled along, and reminisced a bit about the snowy day of victory so long ago. They were just kids then, and yet they seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. Their wordless communication, their sign language could never be broken. Not even by the smartest minds on the strongest team. She had once felt so close to him that she could anticipate his every move. It was true how years made distances longer and harder to overcome.

"It looks like we are going to have to stop here, sir," the limo driver's voice had jarred her out of her thoughts. "Traffic is a mess, and the roads are blocked to the hotel. I'm sorry."

"Then I guess we'll just have to walk the rest of the way," Hiruma's nonchalant response startled her and she threw him a worried look.

"How far are we away?

"About five blocks."

"Five blocks! I can't walk that far in these shoes!" Was he insane? Strappy heeled sandals and snow did not mix! She had not even considered the possibility that they may be walking to their destination in the snow, so she had not even thought about bringing a change of shoes with her.

"It'll be fine, Anezaki. Come on," he replied as he opened the limo door and got out before her.

He had called her by her name. The first time she had heard him say it in years, and it gave her butterflies as it rolled off his tongue. She felt entranced and would have followed him anywhere at that moment, so she followed him out of the car, and onto the snowy pavement.

What began easily enough slowly began to turn into a complete nightmare as they trudged along the sidewalk. They were moving faster than the traffic on the blocked street, but her small feet were becoming colder by the minute. Hiruma was walking a few feet ahead of her and thankfully was unaware of her discomfort. Anytime he glanced back with an irritated glare that asked "Why are you walking so slow," she replied with a smile that said "Everything is fine."

Her tired sigh as they turned a corner and came face to face with the throng of New Year's revelers gave her away. Hiruma stopped dead in his tracks, and gave her an unreadable expression. Her curious eyes met his for a moment as she pondered what he might be thinking. Then he took off his scarf as he came towards her, and bending down on one knee, he wrapped the heavy silk scarf around her freezing cold feet.

She bit back a laugh. "How is that supposed to hel…ahh!" Without warning, he lifted her up in his arms and began carrying her the rest of the way.

She didn't say a word as she held on tight to his neck, and they glided along. The crowd got thicker as they got nearer to their Times Square destination. It was then that she saw the large clock reading 11:59 and panicked. Of course they were late. Later than either of them had ever expected, but now it looked as though they were going to be late for New Year's. She immediately regretted the groan she let escape her mouth, because he turned to glare at her.

"What's the fucking problem now?" He bit out, and she realized how ungrateful she must have seemed. Being carried so gentlemanly by someone, and groaning grumpily as if being carried was an inconvenience to her.

She smiled brightly to reassure him, then turned look towards the happy crowds. "It's just that…we're about to miss the big moment,"

In an instant, he turned, and guided them through the sea of people in the street. Packed closely together, he sat her down on her feet just as the ball began to drop, and the crowd began to chant. Mamori picked up on the crowd's excitement, and began to chant the countdown with them. It wasn't a champagne toast, but it was better than nothing, and surprisingly she was happy to be sharing it with her unlikely companion. Even if he stood there motionless and grumpy by her side.

The clock struck midnight, the ball dropped, and streamers flew into the air. The roar of the crowd was deafening as people pushed together cheering and hugging. She turned to wish Hiruma a Happy New Year, but the dark brooding look on his face, told her to do otherwise. Instead, she let out a loud cheer with the crowd, secretly wishing she could jump up and wrap her arms tightly around the former Devil Bat captain. As she looked around smilingly at the other strangers surrounded her, and wished them a Happy New Year, a familiar New Years phenomenon began to manifest itself around them. People were spontaneously kissing. Some were short and sweet pecks between friends, and others were long savory kisses between lovers.

She felt a sharp tug at on her arm, and turned her head to meet the waiting warm lips of that former Devil Bat captain she had been waiting so desperately to kiss her since their hands brushed together at the airport. As he pulled her fully into his arms, their kiss deepened, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was absently aware that his scarf was still wrapped around her feet; the only things preventing her from tipping over were the crowd, and his warm chest.

He broke the kiss first, looking down on her with soft dazzling jade green eyes "Happy New Year, Mamori," he said softly as he held her gaze for an instant.

"What took you so long?" she replied as a she became teary, and threw her arms around his neck like she had wanted to the moment the ball dropped. She heard his familiar cackle as she buried her face into his shoulder. 2009 was shaping up to be a very good year.


End file.
